1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to a device and method for improving the efficiency, quality and production of framing cloth or other materials for subsequent embroidering, sewing or other operations.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
And Objectives Of The Invention
Framing of textile materials for embroidering, needlepoint, cross stitching and other operations has been done for many years by hand in which the desired material such as a cotton cloth was placed over a base hoop formed from wood, metal or other suitable materials. A hoop having a smaller diameter referred to as the inner hoop is then forced manually into the outer base hoop with the cloth sandwiched between to form a relatively tight frame or surface area of cloth which extends over the inner hoop for application of a logo or the like, for example by embroidering. In recent years, machinery has replaced hand framing operations such as described in my previous U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,335 whereby an embroidery frame press is presented which allows for greater production and uniformity in forming frames of cloth. While such frame presses greatly improve production speeds, additional problems still exist in the framing of cloth regarding the resulting tension of the framed cloth and its quality since wrinkles and blemishes can appear on the area of cloth to be embroidered.
Thus, with the knowledge and understanding of the shortcomings of conventional framing methods, the present invention was conceived and one of its objectives is to improve the speed, efficiency and consistency of cloth which is temporarily framed for embroidering, stitching or other purposes.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a device and method which will prevent wrinkles during framing and will therefore ensure a uniform, high quality surface area for embroidering or otherwise.
It is also an objective of the invention to provide a plunger head with an adjustable resiliently attached pretension member and method which can be used on conventional embroidery frame presses or which can be used by hand as desired to increase and provide more consistency in the tension of the framed cloth.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a plunger head which allows the user to have a better view of the cloth being framed while the framing takes place thus preventing wrinkles or blemishes from being within the area of cloth of subsequent embroidering.
Other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed description is presented below.